The government is going to accord the fallen Dokolo District Woman Member of Parliament, Cecilia Atim Ogwal, an official burial.

According to Milly Babalanda, the Minister of Presidency, this was directed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Saturday, January 20, 2024.

The late Ogwal, aged 77, passed away from a hospital in India on Thursday, January 18, 2024, where she had been admitted.

Babalanda said this is to recognize her great contributions over the years to the country.

“I wish to inform you that the President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has granted an official burial to Hon. Imat Cecilia Atim Ogwal, the fallen Dokolo District Woman Representative (DWR),” said Minister Babalanda.

The Minister noted that President Museveni has also confirmed that he will personally attend a vigil in honour of the late MP Ogwal.

“Furthermore, H.E. the President will personally attend the vigil in honour of the late at Parliament. We extend our sympathies to H.E. the President upon losing a friend, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Among, Parliament, the Ogwal family, and Ugandans at large. May Imat Cecilia’s soul rest in eternal peace,” Babalanda added.

With an official burial, the government will cater for all expenses and accord a gun salute to the deceased leader.

The body of MP Ogwal is expected to arrive at Entebbe International Airport on Sunday, January 21, 2024, and she will be laid to rest on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at her ancestral home in Alito Sub County, Kole District.

Born on June 12, 1946, Ogwal, who was a defense contractor and management consultant, has been a member of Uganda’s legislature continuously since 1996.

In 1967, at the age of 21, she was admitted to the University of East Africa in Nairobi (now known as the University of Nairobi) to study for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She graduated from Nairobi University in 1970. She also holds a Certificate in Human Resources Management from what was then called the Institute of Public Administration but is now known as the Uganda Management Institute. From 1979 until 1980, Ogwal worked at the Uganda Embassy in Kenya as the liaison officer for returning Ugandan refugees.

From 1980 until 1981, she worked as the operations manager at the Uganda Advisory Board of Trade. In 1982, she was one of the founders of Housing Finance Bank, working there until 1984. She served as the Chairperson of the Uganda Development Bank from 1981 until 1986. She became involved in Ugandan politics, serving as the Acting Secretary General of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) from 1985 to 1992. In 1994, she was part of the Constituent Assembly, which drafted and promulgated the 1995 Ugandan Constitution.

She served as a Member of Parliament for Lira Municipality from 1996 until 2006, when she lost to Obote’s son, and soon went to Dokolo, where she was elected the district woman MP in that same year, a seat she held until her death.